Members WoodenDuckMaker Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Like Peter Frampton, Zap & Roger, a song off Metallica's "Load" album. If so, are they hard to use, does it take a lot of practice to sound as good as the above people did? It seems like a cool toy, but i doubt i'd ever use it in a song I wrote, as its almost like a trademark thats been claimed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 They can rattle your teeth a bit. If you can do the George Benson "play while scat singing" bit, it should be easy for you. Actually, I've always found them easier to use than a wah pedal. YMMV. Yes, it takes practice to get to be as good of a player as those folks. But if you're already a decent player, and can sing and play simultaneously - or at least move your mouth as if you were singing while playing - you shouldn't have too hard of a time using a Talkbox. As far as it being a trademark sound, Joe Walsh ("Rocky Mountain Way") got it from Bill West, who got it from the inventor - Bob Heil... Jeff Beck also used one early on. Frampton was a bit later... as was Aerosmith, Bon Jovi, Metallica, etc. etc. Lots of people have used talkboxes over the years. It's not something you'd want to base your entire sound around, but it's a cool effect when used occasionally on the "right" type of song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MathiasWilliam Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 "Do you feeeeel?? Like I doo" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members comfortablynumb Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I have one and it's fairly easy to use. Some words can be harder to form but you'll get it. Like Phil said, a lot of fun to use.. but sparingly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kassanova Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Well, you can practice your whole life and still never be as good as Roger Troutman was. Of course, the same goes for any instrument. They're not "easy" if you're trying to be accurate but with practice (as with anything else), you can get good enough to express yourself. The "s" sound can be difficult. For a while, "s" sounded like "f" when I used it until I figured out how to make it sound right. I can't explain it; its a feel thing. I'm thinking of getting a Rocktron Banshee 2 when they come out if they fixed the noise factor. The Banshee is the best option because it has its own power source built into it but they really only sound good "dirty". Its hard to get it clean. I have an old school 70s talkbox. Phil is dead on about the teeth rattle thing. I lost a couple of fillings using it by pushing too much wattage through it. Be careful or be the close relative of a dentist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DADGADammit Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 how does it rattle teeth? does a lot of air pressure come through there? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 A talkbox is nothing more than a speaker (compression driver) with a length of surgical tubing attached to the throat of the driver. Connect the speaker out of an amp to the input on the talkbox and the sound gets amplified and shot up the tube. You hold the tube in your mouth and "shape" the sounds with variations in mouth position - your oral cavity acting like a resonant chamber. The sound in your mouth gets picked up by a microphone near your mouth and sent out to the PA. Ever hold a speaker inside your mouth? It's sort of like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lanefair Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Too much equipment needed for my liking. And I love funk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ArrMatey Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 A talkbox is nothing more than a speaker (compression driver) with a length of surgical tubing attached to the throat of the driver. Connect the speaker out of an amp to the input on the talkbox and the sound gets amplified and shot up the tube. You hold the tube in your mouth and "shape" the sounds with variations in mouth position - your oral cavity acting like a resonant chamber. The sound in your mouth gets picked up by a microphone near your mouth and sent out to the PA. Ever hold a speaker inside your mouth? It's sort of like that. Thanks for the explanation. We had a band called tygers of pan-tang playing yesterday and the guitarist used that. It was really cool because he just used it sparingly. Definitely a cool effect to try once or twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChuckNorris1982 Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 All the famous talkbox users are prime examples of why nobody should ever use a talkbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil O'Keefe Posted March 7, 2008 Share Posted March 7, 2008 Too much equipment needed for my liking. And I love funk. It's a bit more complicated than gtr -> cable -> amp, but not too much more difficult than setting up a few pedals, and a lot less to cart around than a two amp stereo rig. You don't need a PA or second amp to project it if you're just messing around at home, and if you're recording or doing a gig, you're going to have a vocal mic set up eventually anyway. You do need a small second amp to drive it (at least with the Heil), and the talkbox acts as a second "speaker", but units like the Banshee have the extra amp built-in. You still are going to want a ABY switch to go from your regular rig to the talkbox chain though. An auto-wah or envelope filter might be a better choice for you if you dig tha funk. :phil: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kassanova Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 Almost all of the major multi-FX boxes have a talkbox like effect on them as well. All of the Boss GT series, the Zoom G7/G9 and the GXF-8/GFX-5, Digitech's main GNX boxes (I think they call it "ya-ya" or something), Boss's PW-10 Wah pedal has one as well as their AW-3 Dynamic Filter pedal. Its certainly not exactly the same but they are talkbox-like. You won't sound like Roger or Frampton but you can do that Bon Jovi "Living On A Prayer" intro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members melx Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 nnnnooowwwwiiiidddoooonnnn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tubetonez Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I've used a talkbox several times, always DIY. I made one from a sealed 5" mid-range driver, with a funnel attached. I think it had better tone than the compression drivers, which I've also used. The Banshee seems like the easiest method. I do not like the traditional Heil type where the footswitch switches between your cab and the talkbox, not a good idea with tube amps and as mentioned too much power can hurt. I used a A/B box and a separate smaller amp to drive it. I like the idea of the Banshee, with it's self-contained amp. I'd think that with modern amp technology, a more powerful/cleaner/smaller amp could be incorporated. A modern advantage is that most of us are using much better mics, monitors & PA gear than what we had back in the day, so you can hear the effect more clearly. "Back in the day" meaning, I made my first talk box in high school right after Frampton Comes Alive was released, lol. One final note, never try to use it while chewing gum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SDSMusic Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I have a Banshee and the Free Speech talk boxes. Go with the Banshee, it is insanely easy to set up and use. You can get great sounds quite easily too IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris Loeffler Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I've used one and found it pretty uninspiring. I found crowds react much better to a very vocal wah pedal and a player skilled enough to coax coherent vowel sweeps. That said... they are fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Old Fart Rocker Posted March 7, 2008 Members Share Posted March 7, 2008 I use one. It's a lot of fun. I have an old 70's tb and run it between the speaker out and and the speakers in my C50. I have a couple of long speaker cables tied together to reach from my amp to the tb and back. I've done it like this for as long as I've owned the C50 (15years) and have never had a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seifukusha Posted March 30, 2008 Members Share Posted March 30, 2008 thinking for my next purchase. didnt korn use one as well? anyone know what song? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members revontulet Posted March 30, 2008 Members Share Posted March 30, 2008 +1 for the Banshee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SDSMusic Posted March 30, 2008 Members Share Posted March 30, 2008 thinking for my next purchase.didnt korn use one as well? anyone know what song? dead bodies everywhere off of follow the leader IIRC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mikey4402 Posted March 30, 2008 Members Share Posted March 30, 2008 Fun to use for a short while. It does hurt your teeth and mouth if used too long. Make your own Talk Box to test it out, to see if you like it. I made one and it sounds pretty good. I used a old PC speaker, Tolet plunger, Plastic tube and duct tape. Cost about $20. Search youtube for 'ghetto tape'. If your going to buy a talk box, get the EV 1823m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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